Getting the Point Across (Inspired by Sunderance)
by Johnsoneer
Summary: Nick and Judy are being hunted. Nick, a capable bodyguard, vows to keep his client safe in this unforgiving city. Sometimes, the best way to deal with a threat is not to fight, but to simply make a statement. (This is a one-off idea inspired by the story 'Zootopia: Sunderance' by Kulkum, used with permission. Credit goes to the original author)


**A/N:** This short scene is really an exploration of an idea I had reading 'Zootopia:Sunderence' by Kulkum and is published with permission by the original author. If you have not read that or the accompanying comic by TheWyvernsWeaver, do so because it's top notch work. This is intended to be a fan-made work paying homage to some great imaginative work by those two. Enjoy

* * *

The door to the small house opened again, and the protective fox peered outside using his incredible vision to see through the night, carefully searching for any more of them. He spotted the broken window to his left, and the scorch marks around the door where they had blown their way in, but no movement. His car was still parked across the street where they left it, and right now it was their best option. The door swung open the rest of the way and Nick emerged with Judy's paw in his, leading her towards the car.

Her breath shook and her feet wobbled a little, clearly having a hard time keeping balance. Her eyes were still wide, but now the only lights she could see were the distant glows of the skyscrapers above them. She was cold in her sleeping clothes, and she clung to the briefcase in her paw tightly, but neither of those facts seemed to dawn on her. Nick led her to the car and settled her in before climbing in himself and setting off quickly, the rear tires giving a squeak as they sped off.

Judy continued to try to catch her breath, her mind reeling with the horrifying events preceding their midnight drive. Her eyes were wide open yet she was not seeing the street in front of her.

"Stay with me, Carrots," her body guard said calmly.

"They just . . ." she began.

"Stay calm," he reassured her again.

"They just started shooting! No demands, no . . . nothing. The door just blew and they started firing," she said recalling the failed attempt on her life. "Where did they even get guns in the first place? Where did _you_ get one?"

"I got mine from an overly cautious friend. Them? They likely received theirs from their employers," he said matter of factly. While it was true the pistol he kept hidden proved useful, he hoped never to use it. When the first attempt on Judy's life came from a thug with a knife, Nick expected to see more of the same. But things escalated when a strike team blasted their way through his home. Were it not for his fortifications and quick draw, they would have succeeded. _If they are going to escalate, so are we,_ he thought.

"What are you doing?" Judy asked Nick, still in a bit of a daze.

"Texting while driving," he said, pressing a few keystrokes on his phone and hitting send.

"Ok. . ." she said, unable to reach for a complaint. After what she'd just witnessed, it seemed childish to worry about road safety.

Nick pondered just who he was up against for a moment, giving his chin a scratch in thought.

"If it were just hired mercenaries, they'd be less capable, less equipped. But the fact that they were armed and trained only leaves a few options for who they might be working for," Nick explained as they rounded a few corners and began descending down the hills of downtown.

Nick's explanation snapped her out of her trance as she brought her gaze back to him.

"And those options are?" she asked him.

"Either the mob, or the government," he stated flatly.

"It can't be the government, no way," she stated as if the mere suggestion were insane. "I know they're not thrilled with me shaking things up, but they cannot kill me without risking the order and security they fight so hard to keep. The public would see right the murder and the protests and subsequent riots would begin within the day."

"Perhaps they see you as a risk to that security as well," her bodyguard suggested. She watched his eyes dart back and forth down the street as they drove; silently assessing the cars and few pedestrians they drove past for potential threats.

"Whoever it is, they've changed the rules," he continued. Judy looked up at him with a cocked eyebrow, resting her elbow on the briefcase.

"I hardly think there are rules when it comes to assassinating a bunny," Judy offered.

Nick scoffed. Of course she thought that, the innocent whelp. When a random mammal is selected for assassination the method of execution was always simply whatever was convenient without giving too much for the cops. But when it came to a publicly known figure, method is everything. A simple assassin with a knife could be anybody, even just a disgruntled individual or a mugger. But a team of trained gunmen breaching a secured building in the dead of night with suppressed weapons was a sign of desperation. Even he had to admit that he did not expect this from Zootopia. But he had a backup plan in case of the worst.

"You said your place was safe," Judy scolded him.

"I said I would protect you, and you look satisfyingly not-dead to me," he countered, shooting her a glance. The poor bunny was still in her pajamas, and she left her clothes behind along with the bodies of their would-be assassins. The sight of her looking so shaken and vulnerable, yet comforted by his presence, made part of his chest warm. He took it to be from the weapon against his chest that was still hot from spouting off so many rounds.

"So where do we go now?" she said looking out the window. They passed through a tunnel leading towards the rainforest district. The orange tunnel lights gave way to street lamps as they popped out the other side into a heavy downpour pattering against the windshield. Nick noticed the only other car on the road at this hour happened to be traveling into the rainforest district behind them. He kept his eyes on the road and on the car behind him through the rear-view mirror.

"Nick?" Judy asked again.

"Remember that overly cautious friend I told you about?" he said, glancing at the mirror again. The car behind them was a limo, rhino-sized and tinted windows.

"You mean you actually have friends? I thought that was a joke," she jested. The jab was a good sign her spirits were improving, and stung just enough for him to want to snicker.

"You will be safer there. It just won't be as easy for you to continue work, which is why we did not go there first," Nick explained before reaching over her legs towards the glove-box. _Odd_ , she thought, that the mere presence of a fox sent her whole body in to panic not long ago when they met, yet now, after she watched him strike down a small squad of gunners with deadly precision, she did not recoil or even mind when his hand grazed her knee. He lifted out a small box of cigarettes and placed them in his pants pocket, say for one. He pulled out one of the white and orange cancer-sticks and placed it in the outer pocket of his suit as if it was a boutonniere.

"Must you smoke?" She asked him.

"I only ever smoke when I need to prove a point," he said. "Or after sex," he added, which made her scoff.

"How romantic," she said and looked back out the window. "What does that even mean? How is smoking going to help prove a point? Unless that point is 'I don't care enough about my future to quit sucking on death-vapor.'"

Nick was just about to hit her back with another comment when he noticed the window of the limo behind them opened up despite the rain. He tentatively sped the car up a little faster, keeping his gaze firing back between the road and the rear view mirror.

"Are you buckled?" he asked in a cold tone.

"Yes mother," she sighed, oblivious to his change in demeanor. He noticed then a figure emerge from the open window sticking his upper body out in the rain. Nick looked back at the road in front of him and without warning, signaling, or breaking, he took a sharp turn on Vine Street. He saw a flash from the car behind him as they turned, followed by a thick 'pop' sound as the figure behind them fired.

Judy immediately covered her head with her arms and shrunk down into her seat as Nick smashed the throttle down harder, sending the engine roaring to life and the car careening up a road that lined the canopy.

"Keep your head down," he nearly barked as he wrestled to keep the car in control on the wet roads. He tried to serpentine a bit to keep the shooter from landing a lucky hit, but it was risky to do so without loosing control of the car.

Two more shots rang out as they rounded another corner. Nick noticed how the shots were not aimless or wasteful, but rather careful and always coming whenever they hit a corner.

"Almost there," he whispered.

"Give me the gun, I can shoot back!" Judy called out and reached for his suit jacket.

"Absolutely not, Carrots," he growled as they headed up another hill towards towards a bridge between trees.

"Come on Nick! now is not the time for—"

Just then, one of the shots found their mark. The driver-side rear tire on the car blew with a loud hiss and the car began to spin violently. Nick fought with the wheel to keep it steady, but the car wheeled to the side and slammed into the guardrail before spinning a few times and crashing into the opposite guardrail. The engine sputtered to a stop as they glided to a halt. Judy had her eyes wired shut and did not realize that Nick had his paw around her midsection the entire time they were spinning.

"Nick! Are you alright?" she asked. Part of her was scared about her protector being out when they were effectively pinned by armed assailants, but a separate part of her was genuinely concerned for his safety.

"Shhh," he said and eyed the windows. They were sideways on the road at the very top of a hill between trees. There was a long line of sight in either direction, and over the guardrails on either side was massive drop onto solid concrete. The limo that fired pulled up towards them and stopped, blocking one direction. There was no way they could make it to the trees on the other side of the bridge before the gunner could get in a good enough position to fire at them. He sighed and slipped a paw into his jacket. He pulled out his small firearm and handed it to Judy.

"You have four more rounds in there. Don't use them unless you have no other choice," he explained quietly.

"Nick, wait," she protested with a hiss.

"This might not go well, and if it doesn't, I need you to run. Bunnies are fast, so if I can hold them off for a moment, you'll make it," he said quietly. His face did not have much expression on it, but hers was wildly different. She trembled a little underneath his paws as the weight of what he was saying hit her.

He sighed again and reached for his sunglasses, dawning them on his muzzle. Judy wanted to argue, that they should find another way of escaping, but a thick terror gripped her that held her down in the seat. The thought of cold lead slicing through her, shattering her bones and ripping her apart kept her paws glued to the gun Nick gave her. She could only watch as he exited the car.

Nick closed the door behind him and stepped towards their pursuers, placing his hands in his pockets. He continued to frown flatly at them as they exited the car and began walking towards him. Judy could only see silhouettes from the headlamps, but Nick's eyes saw everything. Two panthers, a lion, a buffalo, and a fox emerged from the limo and each of them pulled out a small firearm. The rain was lighter now, but wet spots still appeared on the shoulders of their suit coats.

"We're not here for you," the lion said."Give us the bunny, and we'll be on our way."

Judy watched from the passenger seat of the crashed car through the rain-spattered window. Her nose twitched madly as she clutched the sidearm with shaky paws. She was absolutely certain she was done for. The fox, no matter how brave or skilled in a fist fight, knew he was in over his head here. There was no way he could protect her from this group without dying himself. He would realize this, give her up, and that would be her end. She stared at Nick's back as he quietly observed them, waiting for him to step aside, cursing herself for ever trusting him in the first place.

"You can't have her," he sad flatly. Her eyes widened as she nearly gasped. She placed her paws around her mouth to keep from making a sound. It was that moment she realized that she wanted him to give her up. It would have been easier than watching him die.

"Last warning, sir. Step aside, or we'll _end_ you," the Lion said with a low growl. Something about the way the lion growled seemed to penetrate the ambient noise of the rain, the car engine, and Judy's chest.

Nick sighed again, shaking his head and looking up at the lion with rain on his sunglasses. The light from the headlamps reflected off of his glasses and up towards the lion, who gazed back at the cold and unwavering fox.

"My associate would rather me end this without violence, so I am going to issue you all this one warning. Put the guns away, get into your car and drive back to whomever sent you. When they ask why you returned empty handed, tell them that Nick Wilde had the home-field advantage. Or don't, I don't care what you say because this either ends with each of you fired, or each of you dead. Like I said before, _you can't have her,"_ he said with a growl, showing the slightest bit of teeth.

Judy found the firearm again and hoisted it up towards the window, pointing it at the silhouette that was towering over Nick. She was smart enough to know that if she pulled the trigger, there was little hope for her or Nick. But while her head screamed at her to open the door behind her and run, her limbs refused to cooperate. Despite the odds, that fox looked as calm and cool as he was when they first met.

"Fine." The lion spat and lifted the pistol towards Nick's head. "I'll tell them I warned you," he said. Nick stared right back at him with an almost disappointed look on his face.

Judy's heart was trying to beat out of her chest as she drew the hammer back on the pistol, put her finger on the trigger, and squeezed.

The lion was on the ground a moment later. Judy's eyes widened as she brought her finger off the trigger and brought her nose against the window. There was no pop, no flash, just a lion lying motionless on the concrete with a hole in his torso.

"What the he—" one of the panther's started before a whizz blew past them from their left side and the panther dropped to the ground with a thud. The other panther cursed loudly and brought his gun to the direction the whizz came from. He fired two shots wildly with loud pops and a snarl before a third and fourth hiss whistled past them from seemingly nowhere. The second panther cried out for a brief moment before rolling onto the ground, followed immediately by the buffalo, who's bullet passed right through him and disappeared into the rain. In less than four seconds, they were no longer out-numbered.

The fox was the only one left, and he stared right back at Nick with a fiery glare. Nick removed his sunglasses as he stepped forward out of the harsh light of the limo's headlamps. The rain continued to patter on the cars behind them and they stared at each other coldly. The fox finally groaned and threw his pistol on the ground in front of Nick, surrendering to him and the phantom shooter.

"You've made some new friends, haven't you Nick?" the fox asked.

"You could say that," he said and placed his glasses into his jacket pocket. His green eyes seemed to glow as they stared back at the fox in front of him.

"You're in way over your head on this one," he warned him.

"I don't think your employer grasps what kind of protection Judy Hopps has," he said and shook his head and reached up to his jacket outer pocket. "You might be able to track us. You could probably try this trick again, or you could try a thousand different ways to get her. . ." he said and pulled out the cigarette still resting in the pocket from earlier.

". . . and you probably will. But let me make something absolutely clear," he said and held up the cigarette in his fingers high above his head. Judy watched as he stayed motionless for a moment, holding the cigarette above his head as if holding up a torch. In a flash, another bullet whizzed across the road, this one glowing bright orange. It flew like a falling star from Nick's side and hissed above his head before vanishing into the canopy. Nick brought the cigarette back down to his muzzle and pulled a thick puff from it, the flame glowing bright red in his paws. He leaned in closely to the fox in front of him and breathed out a stream of smoke onto his face. After he was certain he had his attention, Nick spoke.

"You can't have her."

With that, the other fox stared back at Nick for a brief moment, before turning around and hopping back into the limo. The car sputtered for a moment before slowly turning around and making it's way back into the city. Nick watched it vanish into the undergrowth and turned back towards the beat-up sedan with Judy in it. Judy watched as he flicked the lit cigarette over the side of the road and walked up to the door where she sat glued to the window. She rolled the window down with a hum and stared into his fierce green eyes, still clutching his sidearm.

Instead of speaking, he reached back into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He quickly dialed a number and held up the phone to his ear, maintaining his gaze with Judy. After a short ring, Judy could hear the faint sound of a female's voice.

" _You good, Nick?"_ the voice asked. He turned and looked towards the empty space in the canopy where the bullets came from.

"Yes. Much obliged, Honey."

* * *

Underneath a dark and wet layer of foliage, a single metal tube protruded out of the plant life. Behind the scope of a suppressed high-powered long-range killing device sat a slightly disgruntled honey badger. Her whole body was wet and uncomfortable after waiting for Nick to arrive after his text. She peered through the scope towards the road that snaked around the tree that she called home. In the crosshairs, she saw a few bodies on the bridge whose blood mixed with the rainwater. She saw a beat-up car that she just knew she'd be the one to have to fix. And she saw her old pal Nick with his phone up to his ear, staring right at her.

". . . Then get your asses inside," she exclaimed. "It's raining."


End file.
